Questions to Expect

Before attending an interview you should think of the questions you might be asked, in today’s market place you will be expected to answer traditional questions and behavioural based questions. When answering questions a golden rule to remember is “Honesty is the best policy” do not lie, answer questions as honestly and precisely as possible. And remember preparation will significantly help reduce stress and enable you to feel confident in your answers.

Examples of traditional questions:

Why are you looking to leave your current role?

What kind of role are you seeking?

Why did you choose this particular career path/field?

Why would you like to work for this organisation?

What interests you about our products/service?

What did you do in your previous role? What did you enjoy the most/least about it? Accomplishments? Strengths/ Weaknesses?

What do you want to be doing in your career in five years from now?

How do you handle criticism of your work?

What style of management do you work best with?

Which role did you enjoy the most and why?

What does teamwork mean to you?

When was your last salary review?

Notes on Behavioural based Questions:

Behavioural based questions focus on “core skills” that is those specific skills and behaviours that are needed to succeed in a role. They can include; knowledge, skills, abilities and personal traits.

Answers that you provide are matched to specific role requirements, business objectives and company culture.

Remember that you are being asked to provide the interviewer with specific examples of a situation that you were involved in. Don’t give general answers.

Choose an example that you remember clearly, it is important that you remember as many details of the example you provide.

When assessing what behavioural based questions the interviewer may ask, consider the job description and requirements of the role.

Examples of behavioural based questions:

Coping with pressure:

Describe a time when you were faced with problems or stresses at work that tested your coping skills. What did you do?

Problem solving:

Give me an example of a time you had to be relatively quick in coming to a decision.
Give me an example of a problem you faced on the job, and tell me how you solved it.
Can you tell me about a time you were able to anticipate a problem?
How did you know the problem was likely to occur? What did you do?
How effective was your action?

Drive and motivation:

Can you give me an example of an important goal you had to set?
Tell me about your progress in reaching that goal.
What motivates you to put forward your greatest effort?
Describe a situation which you did so.

Handling conflict:

Tell me about a situation in the past year in which you had to deal with a very upset customer or co-worker.
What is your typical way of dealing with conflict?
Can you give me an example?

Team work:

Describe a contribution you have made to a project on which you have worked on.
Describe an occasion when you had difficulties working in a team.
What caused the problems? How did you respond? What was the outcome?

Time management:

Tell me about a time when you had too many things to do and you were required to prioritise your tasks.
Give me an example of when you had to work to an important deadline.
How manageable were your timescales? What did you do to ensure that the deadline was met? If not, how would you organise your activities differently next time?